On July 21, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Equal Opportunity for All Investors Act, bipartisan legislation aiming to expand access to America’s $13 trillion private markets. The bipartisan effort led by Reps. Mike Flood (R-NE) and Sarah McBride (D-DE) expands the definition of who can invest in private investment opportunities. This is an issue Pinpoint highlighted back in a March 2025 piece in The Point titled, “U.S. Policymakers Should Further Democratize Investment.”
Current rules state that only “accredited investors” — defined as those with a net worth of more than $1 million or $200,000 in annual income — are permitted to access private equity, private credit, and other alternative assets. The theory is that only these investors are sophisticated enough to understand these private investments.
The bill passed in July seeks to modernize this definition by introducing a new path by allowing individuals to qualify as “accredited investors” through an exam to be developed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that assesses actual financial knowledge, rather than just using their wealth as a proxy for financial sophistication. As Rep. McBride stated:
“Right now, only millionaires can invest in these markets — that shuts out everyday Americans, especially women, veterans, and people of color. We need a system where a Black woman in Wilmington or a veteran in Georgetown has the same chance to build wealth as someone on Wall Street.”
Replacing the outdated wealth-based proxies with a test of financial knowledge, the bill ensures more Americans can access the capital markets, including private investment funds, which have outperformed the S&P 500 over the last several decades.
As the Senate considers this bill, Pinpoint celebrates this step toward expanded economic opportunity and urges its swift passage into law. Read our original analysis: https://pinpointpolicyinstitute.org/the-point/u-s-policymakers-should-further-democratize-investment/